A teacher leader is someone who has taken on leadership roles and additional professional responsibilities. They are well versed in adult-learning theory and use that knowledge to create a community of collective responsibility within his or her school. The teacher leader ensures improvement in educator instruction and student learning (teacherleaderstandards.org).
According to ascd.org, a teacher leader has 10 roles.
- Resource Provider - share instructional resources.
- Instructional Specialist - helps colleagues implement effective teaching strategies.
- Curriculum Specialist - guide teachers in proper use of curriculum.
- Classroom Supporter - help teachers implement new ideas by demonstrating, co-teaching, or observing.
- Learning Facilitator - facilitate professional learning opportunities.
- Mentor - serve as mentor for novice teachers.
- School Leader - serve on committees, such as a school improvement team.
- Data Coach - lead conversations that engage peers in analyzing and using data to strengthen instruction.
- Catalyst for Change - "never content with the status quo but rather always looking for a better way" (Larner, 2004, p. 32).
- Learner - model continual improvement, and lifelong learning.
Why is teacher-leadership so important with regard to educational technology?
A teacher leader should be someone who embraces change. Educational technology is all about change. If technology changes as often as Moore's Law dictates, teacher leaders are vital to education. We need to have individuals who are willing to seek after change and who are passionate enough to share changes with their peers. Without teacher leaders, education would surely fail because we would no longer be relevant to the needs of our customers/students.
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